New York Premiere Announced for RATED P FOR PARENTHOOD, a New Musical Comedy

BOOK AND LYRICS BY SANDY RUSTINMUSIC AND LYRICS BY DAN LIPTON & DAVID ROSSMERDIRECTED BY JEREMY DOBRISHPERFORMANCES BEGIN FEBRUARY 8, 2012WITH OPENING NIGHT SET FOR FEBRURARY 26, 2012AT THE WESTSIDE THEATRETICKETS ON SALE NOW!

New York, NY (December 9, 2011) – Producers Andrew Asnes and Timothy Schmidt have announced the New York Premiere of the new musical comedy Rated P for Parenthood. Following on the heels of a successful World Premiere at the South Orange Performing Arts Center in May, 2011, Rated P will begin performanceson Wednesday, February 8, 2012 with Opening Night set for Sunday, February 26, 2012 at the Westside Theatre (407 West 43rd Street).

{module ad_left_body}With book and lyrics by Sandy Rustin, music and lyrics by Dan Lipton & David Rossmer and direction by Jeremy Dobrish, Rated P for Parenthood chronicles every stage of modern-day parenting, from conception to college, with giant doses of heart and humor. A versatile cast of four takes the audience through the ups and downs of childrearing – from the sublime to the ridiculous – in a series of comic and musical vignettes in under 90 minutes. A hilarious, fresh, and decidedly irreverent look at an age old topic, Rated P provides all the wistful joy of childrearing …at a fraction of the cost of braces!

Sandy Rustin commented, “Comedy greats will tell you to "write what you know." So when, in a postpartum haze, I accidentally sent a photo of my newborn son (and my own vagina) to everyone I know - naturally I wrote a show about it. This show is a quilt of parenting moments - the hilarious, the heartbreaking, and the humiliating - all based on real life moments from me, my family, and my friends. I am thrilled to share it with New York audiences.”

Tickets are $89.50 and can be purchased through Telecharge.com or by calling 212-239-6200. Rated P for Parenthoodwill play the following schedule: Tuesday – Thursday at 7:00, Wednesday and Saturday at 2:30, Friday and Saturday at 8, and Sunday at 3:00.

Additional details regarding the Off-Broadway debut will be announced shortly.

The World Premiere of Rated P for Parenthood was produced by Midtown Direct Rep at the South Orange Performing Arts Center in May 2011.

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Sandy Rustin (Book and Lyrics) is an actress and writer. Sandy was most recently cast on HBO’s hit drama “Boardwalk Empire” and in Broadway’s Fat Pig. She appears regularly at The Upright Citizen’s Brigade in “Gravid Water” (named “Best Improv Show” by Time Out, New York). Favorite New York credits include: Modern Orthodox (New World Stages), I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change (Westside Theatre), Jolson & Company (Century Center), Sarah, Plain and Tall (Lucille Lortel), and Neil Simon’s Hotel Suite (Roundabout). She’s a player in “Don’t Quit Your Night Job” and an “undercover agent” for Improv Everywhere. TV credits include “The Scariest Show on TV” (Comedy Central), “Law and Order: SVU”, “As the World Turns”, “All My Children”, and “Guiding Light”. A graduate of Northwestern University, Sandy is now the proud Co-Artistic Director of Midtown Direct Rep. www.sandyrustin.com

Dan Lipton & David Rossmer (Music and Lyrics) are longtime collaborators who write both music and lyrics together. Their original musical comedy The Blonde Streak is currently in development at Broadway Across America. They are also working for Araca Group on adapting a bestselling memoir. Rossmer & Lipton's dramatic fairy tale notes to MariAnne has been workshopped at the NAMT Festival, New York Stage & Film and the O’Neill Center’s NMTC conference, where the team received the Holof Award for their lyrics. Their form-bending musical satire JOE! has been seen at the Kennedy Center’s Theater Lab, Chicago's Equity Library Theatre and the NAMT Festival in New York. JOE! is currently in development as a 3D movie musical. Other projects include: a historical project with television writer Janis Hirsch, a futuristic musical with Kirsten Guenther, and a show about B-movies with Wayne Rawley. They have written special material for singers including Kelli O’Hara (Always album 2011, Lincoln Center American Songbook, Café Carlyle) and Sutton Foster (Joe’s Pub). And the duo co-created, with Steve Rosen and Sarah Saltzberg, the comedy improv variety show Don’t Quit Your Night Job, which began at Joe’s Pub and ran off-Broadway. Lipton & Rossmer are represented by Thomas Pearson at ICM and can be found online at trappedinamusical.com.

Jeremy Dobrish (Director) Recent New York: Date of A Lifetime, This One Girl’s Story (NYMF), Spain (MCC), Election Day (Second Stage). Regional: Barrington Stage, Goodspeed, Hangar, North Shore, NY Stage and Film, Old Globe, O’Neill Village. Jeremy is the Co-Artistic Director of Midtown Direct Rep, has served as an Artistic Associate at Second Stage, and was the Artistic Director of Adobe Theatre Company for 13 years. He lives in Maplewood with his wife Beth and daughters Clea and Quinn. www.jeremydobrish.com